In the blog, I wrote earlier this week about my mountaineering adventure on Hvannadalshnúkur, a massive volcano and Iceland’s highest peak. It was a climb that required more than 6,000 feet of ascent and a roundtrip hike/climb that totaled nearly 20 miles of mountain distance traveled. Unlike Eyjafjallajokull, the country’s ash-spewing volcano in the news this spring, Hvannadalshnúkur is for now dormant and calm.
Our day on the peak began at a trailhead with literally dozens of Icelanders. A climbing program organized by Icelandic apparel and outerwear company 66 North and Icelandic Mountain Guides called “Toppaðu with 66° North” included a series of training climbs over the past few months. Hvannadalshnúkur, at 6,922 feet, was the final test for the group of climbers, many new to mountaineering.
We hiked uphill in thick fog. The scene was wild and dark, clouds dropping and rising, mist so heavy your face would get wet. The trail wound up and up through moss and rocks. Waterfalls floated off walls. We crossed streams pure enough that you could dip a bottle in and get a drink.
For the day’s adventure, our initial goal was Vatnajökull, the largest glacier in Europe and a massive sheet of ice that covers a large share of Iceland’s southeastern interior. Crevasses, icefalls, deep snow and perpetual winter were ahead. My group ascended a rock ridge and roped up just before the snow.
